Audio 3:05
SA set to pass landmark laws to protect farmland

Nicola GageUpdated
Wed 26 Sep 2012, 11:01 AM AEST

For decades, urban sprawl has been gradually affecting the Barossa and McLaren Vale regions, north and south of Adelaide. Grape growers have been fighting to stop new developments - now legislation to protect agriculture looks set to pass Parliament.

Transcript

TONY EASTLEY: For 40 years urban sprawl has been creeping into South Australia's Barossa and McLaren Vale regions.

And for much of that time grape growers from there have been fighting to stop new housing developments.

Now legislation to protect the land looks set to pass Parliament.

Nicola Gage reports from McLaren Vale.

(Sound of footsteps)

NICOLA GAGE: Grape grower Dudley Brown is showing me around his property at Tatachilla, about 45 minutes south of Adelaide.

DUDLEY BROWN: Well right now we're at the, just past bud burst so all the vines have sort of two or three leaves on them, maybe five or six, and we hope to be harvesting in March.

NICOLA GAGE: These vineyards are part of 40,000 hectares of agricultural land in McLaren Vale that will be protected under the Character Preservation Bill.

If it becomes law no new residential development or sub-divisions will be allowed outside town boundaries.

The same will apply in the Barossa Valley.

Dudley Brown has been heavily involved in the bill's creation.

DUDLEY BROWN: It started about five years ago when I saw these housing developments just continually encroaching on grade vineyard land.

And I came from California and had seen the success of the Napa Valley's preservation act and suggested it to Leon Bignell, our MP here in Mawson. And he did a study trip over to Napa and was really blown away by how successful it had been and realised it'd be perfect for us.

NICOLA GAGE: The bill has been reworked twice. It's passed the Upper House and now needs to be approved by Parliament's Lower House before becoming law.

Jock Harvey is another local grape grower and wine producer who's been pushing for the area to be protected.

JOCK HARVEY: It's been estimated in the last couple of years that the value of grapes, wine and tourism is nearly a billion dollars in McLaren Vale alone. And that of course is in jeopardy. Housing will be a short economic boost to employment but then that dissipates over time. We're certainly not against housing but we believe that it should be reconsidered both in its form and also in its location.

NICOLA GAGE: Housing developments have been slowly encroaching on vineyards and olive plantations since the late 1960s. Mr Harvey believes up to 40 per cent of prime agricultural land in the region has already been lost to urban sprawl.

JOCK HARVEY: There has been a lot of damage already to the whole McLaren Vale region and this is really a last chance legislation for both the McLaren Vale and the Barossa Valley. And what we'd really like is other food producing regions and tourist regions around Australia to look at where they may be in 20 or 40 years if they don't take some steps now.

NICOLA GAGE: Locals have also launched a bid for the region along with the Adelaide Hills to become UNESCO World Heritage listed.

Stephanie Johnston is working on the project.

STEPHANIE JOHNSTON: I certainly think that if you don't intervene then the sprawl happens.